Orphans | Larry

13

I shrugged, looking towards Perrie and Niall for a quick reassurance. They both sent me a thumbs up in my direction accompanied by a 'good luck' grin.

"Sure." I said to Simon, a fake smile coating my lips, which he returned in an equally fake manner.

He opened the latch at the side of the counter, allowing us access behind it. Nerves were rushing through my body at a million miles an hour as I attempted desperately to even-out my breathing.

I slipped my small body through the doorway that led into a room with an oak table and two black cushioned chairs at either side of it.

The sight was very cliche, I half expected the all white wall to be an opening revealing the New York City line, before I remembered that we were in fact in London, and not that nice of an area at that.

Simon walked around to the seat facing the door before gesturing at the chair opposite him and saying lowly, "Take a seat."

I nodded quickly, not wanting to keep the man waiting, he seemed fairly busy. I pulled out the chair but winced when it scraped against the polished hardwood floor.

I took my seat and rested my chin on my hands, my knee bouncing up and down in anticipation. It must've been a very unprofessional sight, but surely he had to have seen worse. I mean he hired Niall, and I don't know him well, but from what I can tell, he's the furthest thing from professionalism.

Simon followed suit in taking a seat, scanning me up and down with his eyebrow raised. I squirmed, feeling exposed under his watchful eye.

His eyes finally locked with mine, him being the first to break the silence, which was understandable really, "So, Louis," he paused, looking down at the sheets of paper that were splayed out in an orderly fashion in front of him, "What brings you here?"

I swallowed, looking awkwardly down at my hands which were now in front of me, fiddling, "Erm... I was looking for a job and my friend Zayn recommended I look here?" The statement left my mouth as a question.

Simon nodded, "Zayn, lovely lad he is."

It was now my turn to furrow my brows in confusion, "You know Zayn?"

"Well of course. He's a regular. I find it very important to connect with the customers on a personal level, to the best of my ability, without it becoming unprofessional." He spoke out, as if it were first nature to him.

"Oh yeah, that's fair enough actually." I replied, gaining a slight confidence with each sentence I spoke. However, I was certain that I'd never feel comfortable around the man, for he was very intimidating to say the least.

He averted the subject back to its origins, "Louis, what do you think you can bring to the job?"

I ran my hand through my hair, thinking of an answer that would compliment the question, "I'm hardworking, I'm hardly ever late," I just hoped that Simon couldn't see through my little white lies, "I'm very friendly toward everyone, and I make good tea?"

He laughed at that, a clear rarity for him considering he covered it up with a cough and straightened out his collar almost immediately.

"That's good to hear Louis, and I wasn't given a CV, so would you like to tell me what qualifications you have?" He spoke, slipping easily back into his work-driven ways.

Qualifications? Damn Zayn!

"Ermm, I have 6 GCSE's all at a C grade." For once in my life I was thankful that I had paid some level of attention at school.